


Palaces of Gold

by sailorgreywolf



Series: Historical Hetalia Week 2020 [5]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:28:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23631634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailorgreywolf/pseuds/sailorgreywolf
Summary: Bavaria’s king shows him a new palace that he is working on. Ludwig II’s passion for the ornate and lavish is unparalleled. But, the threat of German politics looms large, and forces Bavaria to question his king’s priorities.
Relationships: bavaria/ludwig ii
Series: Historical Hetalia Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1701136
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5





	Palaces of Gold

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文-普通话 國語 available: [【授翻】金色宫殿](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29432976) by [dort](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dort/pseuds/dort)



The king told him to close his eyes, and Bavaria obliged somewhat hesitantly. While he loved his king, he had a feeling that if this was garnering this much excitement and fanfare from him, then it must have been expensive.

Ludwig II had the tastes of a spoiled romantic who did not seem to understand that gold was not infinite. Bavaria was a rich kingdom, but even his natural resources could only do so much. There had to be a breaking point.

He felt his king’s hand take his own and start to lead him. Ludwig’s hands were so soft, save for some of the roughness from dabbling in musical instruments. A martial man might have had callouses on his palms from a fencing sword, but not Ludwig. He had never been that kind of man. He had always been softer, and sweeter than other boys.

Bavaria felt himself being led forward, then eased gently over the threshold of a door. He heard the sound of his own shoes and the king’s on what sounded like wood floor. He could already guess that it was a complicated parquet. Ludwig would not want anything less. But, that would mean even more expense.

They stopped, and Bavaria wondered if he was supposed to open his eyes yet. But, he waited patiently until his king said, “You can look now.”

Bavaria opened his eyes to a beautiful hall. There were golden vines carved into the walls and filigree crowning the pillars. In the space between the pillars, there were textiles in the richest blue. In the middle of the room, there was a massive gilded sculpture of a swan.

His eyes caught the glitter of gemstones inlaid in the gold. The room was gloriously decorated, and he could see that there were niches set into the wall, undoubtedly for treasures or porcelain that was not yet there. There wasn’t any furniture yet either, but he already knew what to expect.

It seemed that with each palace he planned, his king got more ambitious and lavish. He already knew that this was the newest project, but he had not expected it to be this far yet.

His king turned an excited face to him, and said, “Isn’t it glorious? It’s exactly how I imagined it. It took time to import the wall coverings, but the colors look enchanting.”

Usually Bavaria enjoyed these long talks about palaces and rooms, and all the little details of what made them beautiful. He had certainly never looked at rooms as closely before.

But, there was another concern working at the corner of his mind as he watched his king walk to different parts of the room and gesture at parts of the decor. Ludwig circled back to the center of the room, and said as he put one hand right above the swan like he was afraid to touch such an exquisite treasure, “This is my most majestic piece. It truly is the most handsome creature. I am going to put this in a mirrored naive, so that it-“

Bavaria could feel his concern growing, and he finally said, “How much did this all cost?”

He saw the look of enthusiasm fall from his king’s face and felt a surge of guilt. He didn’t want to hurt him, but he could not have held the thought back any longer. Ludwig said, “I can’t be sure, since it isn’t done yet. I wanted to show you this room since I finally finished it. You can’t put a price on beauty.”

He said the last statement with a kind of defensive sting in his voice. Bavaria did not mean for him to sound so hurt. He sighed and said, “I wish that I could tell you that you could build to your heart’s content. But, I cannot. I need to ask you to be aware of how much our treasury can take. How many more palaces are you planning to build?”

He felt like he was asking a painful question, since it would have to bring his young king back to Earth. He felt a little more guilt each time that he insisted that Ludwig leave his world of romance and fantasy for the cruel pragmatism of the present. He knew that he shouldn’t. A king had to deal with the problems of the real world, and Ludwig was a king. Bavaria had sheltered him longer than he should have out of affection for the man.

Ludwig said back, sounding even more defensive, “I would rather spend money on this. I want to build things that will be admired for centuries to come. I will leave a beautiful mark on the world.”

He laid his hand on the swan and rubbed a thumb on it agitatedly. Bavaria wanted to take him into his arms and tell him that there was nothing to worry about. But, he knew that was not the truth.

He said, “And what do you think Prussia is spending his money on?” Bavaria could feel that Prussia was plotting something in his seeming silence. He was as tricky as a fox, and would surely strike soon. Prussia was a tyrant and a bully, and it was certain that he would find a reason to fight Austria. Bavaria was certain of it.

The king scoffed and said, “Now you sound like my brother. He keeps chattering in my ear about needle guns. Prussia has them, so we must.”  
Bavaria replied, taking a step forward towards his king, “Is Otto wrong to want to be prepared?”

Ludwig let out a sharp breath of air through his nose. Then he said, “Prepared for what? Is Prussia standing at your door demanding you fight?” Bavaria shook his head stiffly. It was true that he was not quite yet. But with the tensions between Prussia and Austria, it would only be a matter of time.

Ludwig continued, “War is an ugly thing, Leo. I will not take part in it. We have taken too much time fighting when we could be creating culture and beauty.”  
Bavaria said, hearing his own frustration in his voice, “The world is not an opera, Ludwig. War will come whether you want it or not.”

The king scoffed again, “And now you sound like Sissi.” If he wanted to, Bavaria could have corrected Ludwig that her name was Empress Elizabeth of Austria, but it was futile. Among her family she would always be Sissi.

Ludwig continued, “Last time she was here she told me, ‘it is time to grow up. Leopold has let you live in your fantasy kingdoms too long.’”

He paused for a moment, and Bavaria could see the real hurt from this chiding. The cousins were close, and surely Sissi’s words had cut deeply.

Ludwig’s voice sounded smaller when he spoke again, “Is that how you see me too? As a child who does not know how the world is? I do know how it is, and how ugly it is. But, I believe that I can change it by not engaging in brutality.”

Bavaria felt the sudden urge to take him into his arms. He loved Ludwig dearly, and believed that his idealism was a gift. But, this was a moment for harsh truths.

He stepped even closer and reached out like he was going to hug him as he said, “I believe you are a singular man with a vision of the world that few share. But, I think the world will not be as you wish it.”

Ludwig came gladly into his arms and looked up at his face. Then, to Bavaria’s surprise, Ludwig put his hand on his face, and said, “There are a great many things I wish for, but cannot have.” The hand trembled, and Ludwig pulled it away as he repeated, in a tone of mourning, “A great many.”


End file.
